![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771273753_691_Tyler-Linderbaum-2.jpg\")
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CINCINNATI, OHIO – OCTOBER 06: Tyler Linderbaum #64 and Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens embrace before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on October 06, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Baltimore Ravens<\/a> left a lot to be desired in the 2025 season. After a disappointing 2025, the Ravens are expected to take a big leap in 2026.<\/p>\n According to CBS Sports\u2019 Jared Dubin<\/a>, the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> will take a big leap in 2026 primarily to one reason\u2026<\/p>\n Lamar Jackson should be healthy in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cJackson only missed four games this year, but he was clearly not at full strength in the nine games he played following his return from injury.\u201d Dubin wrote<\/a>. \u201cA healthy version of Jackson does not rush only 46 times for 183 yards and one touchdown across a nine-game sample size. That\u2019s just not the type of player he is.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen healthy in the previous two seasons, Jackson averaged 6.0 rushing attempts for 52.6 yards per game compared with 5.1 attempts for 20.3 yards in the second half of this season.\u201d<\/p>\n The Baltimore Ravens Are Dangerous When Jackson Is Healthy<\/p>\n Lamar Jackson was phenomenal during the 2024 season. During that season, Jackson threw for 41 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. He also threw for 4,172 yards during the 2024 season.<\/p>\n In 2025, Jackson was off to a good start in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills<\/a>. Jackson threw for 209 yards with three total touchdowns against Buffalo. That was the last time we saw a fully healthy Lamar Jackson perform.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Jackson is on the field and healthy, the Ravens are going to win more games than they did this year.\u201d Dubin wrote<\/a>. \u201cThey went 25-8 in his 33 starts across the previous two seasons, compared with just 6-7 this year. And their offense was one of the best in the NFL<\/a> in 2023 and 2024, while it was average at best for much of this past season.\u201d<\/p>\n The Baltimore Ravens are clearly a threat when the two-time MVP is on the field. Despite Running Back Derrick Henry and Wide Receiver Zay Flowers having good seasons, Baltimore failed to hit their stride offensively.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the primary focus is to keep Jackson healthy for the entire 2026 season.<\/p>\n Baltimore\u2019s Defense Is Expected to Take Significant Strides<\/p>\n To compliment a healthy Lamar Jackson in 2026, the Baltimore Ravens\u2019 defense is expected to see improvement. This is primarily due to the Ravens hiring new head coach Jesse Minter and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ravens are also getting a defensive coaching upgrade with the return of Jesse Minter to the fold.\u201d Dubin wrote<\/a>. \u201cZach Orr\u2019s defense left much to be desired this past season, but Minter has shown that he can build really good units even without the benefit of elite talent, so he should be able to get more out of his charges on that side of the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n Under former defensive coordinator Zach Orr, the Ravens ranked 24th in total defense<\/a> during the 2025 season. They were the 30th ranked defense against the pass. Defensively, the Ravens had trouble generating pressure with a 30% pass rush win rate in 2025.\u00a0According to ESPN<\/a>, the win rate ranked 28th in the league.<\/p>\n On the other hand, the hire of Jesse Minter will be a big help. In 2025, the Chargers<\/a> had the 5th ranked defense in the NFL under Minter. They held opponents to 20 points or fewer in 10 of their last 11 games, and they tied for third in interceptions with 19.<\/p>\n With Minter at the helm, the Baltimore Ravens along with their talent will be expected to have a successful 2026 season on offense and defense.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDeonTay Smith<\/a> is a journalist who covers the NFL for Heavy.com with a focus on the Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and the Baltimore Ravens. A graduate from Methodist University, Smith also covers local news for the Panama City News Herald and hosts his own YouTube podcast. More about DeonTay Smith<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Ravens\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty CINCINNATI, OHIO – OCTOBER 06: Tyler Linderbaum #64 and Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens embrace…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":756707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-756706","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-ravens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116082204892769960","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/756707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}